


Spoilers

by everystareverywhere



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Once Upon A Time - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Harry Potter - Freeform, based off a prompt, soulmate tattoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 07:33:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11436126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everystareverywhere/pseuds/everystareverywhere
Summary: Emma Swan has a soulmate tattoo on her ribcage that gives her pretty big spoilers for the Harry Potter universe.





	Spoilers

**Author's Note:**

> So I was inspired to write this based off of these two prompts:  
> so if in the soulmate au the very first words your soulmate ever says to you are tattooed somewhere on your body since the day you are born imagine having something like ‘man I cant believe dumbledore died’ tattooed on you. imagine being spoiled for a book series that doesnt even exist yet. imagine worrying about this dumbledore guy your whole childhood while not knowing who he is. imagine knowing dumbledore dies before jk rowling even thinks about it. (@dondaario)
> 
> So you finally find your soulmate. After years of knowing that dumbledore dies and the entire franchise being ruined, you find him. You’re in the theatre, dumbledore is dead and you hear it. ‘Man I can’t believe dumbledore died’ by a guy walking right by you and in you’re rage you shout ‘You! You’re the one!’ The guy stops, looks at you, his own arm to read the words, then back at you and he says, “That’s not really how I imagined that being said” (@littlelions101)

The mark had been there since the day Emma was born. As she grew older she knew what it was: her soulmate mark. At first she was excited; a soulmate mark on her meant somewhere out there would be someone who would love and care for her, correct? But if life told her one thing it was this: life is pain. Prince Charming did not exist. Fairy Godmothers were not coming to save her. And soulmarks meant absolutely nothing.

However, that never really stopped her from wondering what in hell her soulmate was talking about. The words "Man, I can't believe Dumbledore died" were as mysterious to her as how the mark ended up on her ribcage. Just below her left breast the words appeared and she had no idea who this Dumbledore person was or why her soulmate couldn't believe they died. Were they a political figure? Someone of great importance? She hated wearing bikini tops because someone _always_ noticed the words. And since soulmate tattoos were the all the rage, especially among teenage girls, she was usually bombarded with questions. "Do you know who he is? That Dumble...guy?" 

No, actually she had no clue. It wasn't until she was almost seventeen that she finally figured it out. The Harry Potter series was huge, but not so much in the beginning. And between foster houses and making sure she had a place to sleep every night, she didn't always pay attention to what was going on in pop culture. It actually wasn't until her boyfriend at the time, Neal and she snuck into a movie theater to see the latest craze: _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_.

"I haven't read the book," Neal whispered to her as the lights dimmed and the music got louder. "They're for kids. But I heard the movie is pretty good."

Emma nodded, as though she thought the same thing though she actually never even heard of Harry Potter until Neal brought it up an hour earlier. 

And it was during the train scene, when Harry gets the trading card and reads "Albus Dumbledore" that Emma intakes a deep breath. Dumbledore was a _fictional character_ from a _children's_ _book_. So she waited with bated breath for the final scenes where this wizard would just keel over.

Only Dumbledore didn't die. He was actually alive and well at the end of the movie, which left Emma a bit perplexed. She looked around at the other adults and children as they left the theatre and looked up at Neal who was waiting for the people in front of him to move.

"But--"

"What?" he asked, turning his torso to look back down at her.

Emma pointed weakly to the screen, still rolling the credits. "It's just...Wasn't...."

He turned completely around to face her. "What's the matter?"

That's when she realized that he has never seen her tattoo. He had no idea that she was waiting for the headmaster to have a heart attack or get shot or something so he could die.

"Nevermind."

But now Emma was consumed. When did the headmaster of Hogwarts die?

But before she could pick up the books, Neal spoke about a home in Tallahassee and all thoughts of witches and wizards went right out of Emma's head. For Hogwarts was make-believe, whereas what Neal was suggesting was reality.

But as she mentioned before, life is pain. Instead of sunny days by the beach,she suddenly found herself arrested for Neal's actions. That bastard walked free while Emma got eleven months in prison for a crime she didn't commit. 

Emma grew more and more depressed as she spent time in jail. No one ever came to visit her (since Neal was the only thing she had to family and friends), no letter was ever sent her way. Well, that wasn't exactly true. Emma did get an envelope with just a car key and a swan keychain with no note. Not that she cared that she had a car when she was leaving this dump.

Before Emma really hit rock bottom (though, at this point she was pretty sure rock bottom was her permanent residence), she escaped to the library. She did always found solace in books, and perhaps one of them can take her away from this hellhole. And that's when she saw it on the bookshelf: _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_. She quickly picked it up and scanned through it. It was well used, no doubt about that, but a quick glance at the end showed no ripped pages, so that was good enough for her. But then she noticed three other books: _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ ; _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ ; _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_

It was a freaking series! That's why Dumbledore didn't die at the end of the movie! Because he must die in one of the other books.

She quickly picked them all and escaped to a small corner of the room, wanting nothing more than a beanbag or chair for her to sit on. When she got herself settled, she opened the first one.

Of course she didn't finish the four books that afternoon, but by the time she got to the _Goblet of Fire_ , she knew for certain that she was a Harry Potter fan. The books took her so far away from prison that she wanted to go to Hogwarts any chance that she got. 

When she was released the first thing she did was try to locate someplace to work. Getting two jobs at two separate diners, she was able to save enough for a crappy apartment that barely had a door on the bathroom. But before she even got herself a television, she bought the four books for the series. And when she went through them again, she noticed something at the end of the fourth book: _Coming Soon: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (06/20/03)_. 

June 20?! Why that was only a month away! Emma could barely contain her excitement that another book was under way. How she longed to get lost in Harry's head for a while, since though his life completely sucked before he went to Hogwarts, it seemed to be picking up. He at least had friends and the Weasley family that treated him like one of them.

Emma had been passing a bookshop a few weeks later when she saw a sign that read: _Midnight Release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix June 20, 2003! Come join us as we continue Harry's story at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Remember to dress up as your Hogwarts house!_

Emma had no intention of dressing up at a Hogwarts house (though she would have liked to be place in Gryffindor along Harry, Hermione, and Ron), but going to the midnight release sounded like fun. So when the night arrived, she left her house at nine o'clock and was stunned to see the huge crowd outside the store waiting for them to open for their midnight release.

She had a load of fun talking to the other fans, guessing what might come next. She, of course, didn't mention her tattoo on her ribcage, giving away one huge spoiler about what was going to come soon. How could she tell these diehard fans that a beloved character was going to die? Emma herself was devastated at the news, and she knew about it long before she even had heard of Harry Potter.

When she finally got the book, a part of her wondered (much like she did with every book before) if this was the book where it was going to happen. She almost wanted to flip to the end, just to know for certain if the beloved character was going to get the heart attack she thought he was going to have years earlier. But she didn't want to know any other spoiler, so she carefully read every page, looking for any foreshadowing that J.K. Rowling may have left behind. 

A year later, Emma had enough money to move from Phoenix to anywhere else in the country (besides Florida). After contemplating California, New York, Michigan, and Massachusetts, she finally landed on Boston. It was a city, much like New York, but not as congested. And  since she was found twenty miles outside of Boston on the side of the highway, she had a small (tiny really) glimmer of hope that her parents might still be in Boston. But that was pipe dream, really.

After she was settled into a bigger apartment that had starling white walls and minimal furniture, she found out the third Harry Potter movie was coming out into theatres. When she heard about a midnight showing, she knew without a doubt she would be there.

Emma stood patiently on line when the person behind her bumped into her. "Oh, I'm sorry," a young woman said. Emma told her it was not a problem and then noticed how she was dressed up. 

"Oh!" Emma said, turning fully around to get a good look at the woman who was probably her age. "You look great!" 

With pixie cut black hair, round glasses, and a red lightning bolt mark on her forehead, the woman looked convincing like Harry Potter. She blushed lightly before ducking her head a bit. "Oh, thanks so much. You're not dressed up?" 

Emma looked down at her plain white shirt and jeans. "No, not this time." She didn't want to admit that she couldn't afford to get anything resembling a Hogwarts scarf, let alone the whole wardrobe like the woman in front of her.

"Oh, well, I have a Gryffindor scarf here if you would like to wear it. It keep scratching the back of my neck. But you can wear it, if you'd like."

Emma took the scarf, genuinely touched by her giving nature. "Thank you."

"No problem. I'm Mary Margaret."

"Emma."

"Nice to meet you. How long have you been a fan?" 

And just like that, Emma met her best friend. She and Mary Margaret spent as much time together as they could. Emma knew what Harry felt like when Harry was introduced to the Weasely household, because that's exactly how it felt for her. Mary Margaret and her whole family were so giving and wanted very little in return.

The next midnight book release ( _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)_ found both Mary Margaret and Emma dressed up. Mary Margaret was once again Harry Potter, and Emma wore a brown wig (purchased by Mary Margaret, even though Emma told her no) and a Gryffindor tie. Both girls were acting as though they were sixteen, but so did everyone else in the bookshop, so they didn't care.

As it got closer to midnight, the excitement level was going up in the store. Plus, the Starbucks attached to it were selling Harry Potter influenced beverages. Emma and Mary Margaret were both enjoying the Snitch when suddenly Mary Margaret was covered in a red drink covering her whole outfit.

"What the hell!?" she screamed as she stood up from the floor, turning around to see who did that to her. 

"Oh my God," a young man said, looking horrified at what just happened. "I am so sorry. Let me get that for you."

This was the angriest Emma had ever seen Mary Margaret, who was turning as red as the drink currently going down her white shirt and black skirt. "Watch what you're doing, jerk!"

"I said I was sorry!" the man yelled back. Emma noticed that he too was dressed up, and was wearing a cheap red wig, with a Gryffindor necktie and robe. "Let me--I'll go get some napkins."

The man ran off to get napkins as someone nearby handed Emma some they had. Emma and Mary Margaret began wiping her off. She was muttering under her breath, when she suddenly took a deep breath and said, "What did he say?"

Emma was currently splashing a little water onto a napkin to get some of the red dye off of her friend's neck. "Who said what?"

"The guy. When the drink spilt on me, what did he say?"

"He apologized," Emma said distracted. 

Mary Margaret grabbed Emma's arm forcing her to stop and focus. "Emma, listen. He said 'Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Let me get that for you.' Right? He said those _exact_ words, right?" 

"I guess. Why?" Emma asked the question, but she knew the answer before it came out of her friend's mouth.  

"Because that's what I have tattoo under my arm!" she whispered back. She pointed to her right side, along the torso. "Just here are those exact words. Emma! I think I met my soulmate!"

Emma wanted to sigh. "How do you know for certain? That's a pretty common phrase." _Not like you have a major spoiler for a humongous fandom written on your body._

"Because I know!" she almost squealed. "Oh, he's coming back now.

And the boy was back with plenty of napkins and apologizes coming out for the following five minutes. He didn't realize how close he was to her, was certain the bookcase was behind him instead. He'll pay for dry cleaning, buy her the book to compensate. Oh, and his name was David Nolan. 

"Mary Margaret Blanchard," she smiled. "And this is Emma Swan."

(Months later, Mary Margaret told Emma that David actually had the words "What the hell?" written on his upper thigh, making his parents very curious on who he was going to marry in the future.)

But it was actually the next day, after Emma finished reading _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_ that her tattoo was correct. Only Dumbledore didn't just die, he was _killed_!

"I can't believe it," Mary Margaret said a few days after the book release, when both girls were able to get together to discuss what they had just read. "I can't freakin' believe it. Dumbledore _died_?!"

Maybe it was the mimosas, maybe it was the relief of _finally_ being able to tell someone her secret, but Emma blurted out, "I knew it."

"You did not."

"I did too. I knew Dumbledore was going to die since before I can remember."

Mary Margaret, who fully believed that fairy tales actually happened, looked dubious. "And how is that, may I ask?"

Emma leaned a little closer, not to be overheard by the other customers. "Because of my soulmark tattoo."

Mary Margaret no longer looked doubtful. Now she look confused, as well as shocked. "Soulmark tattoo? You never told me you had a soulmark tattoo!"

"Because I knew you'd want to see it and I could let you with such a major spoiler!"

"I want to see it."

"Mary Margaret..."

"Please?"

"Not now. We're in a restaurant for crying out loud."

"They have a bathroom."

"No."

"Well, where is it?"

Emma gestured to under her breast. "On my ribs."

"I _need_ to see it."

"You will. Just not now."

When they got back to their shared apartment, Mary Margaret barely closed the door before pulling at Emma's shirt. "For God's sake, woman, give me a moment!"

Emma finally took off her shirt and showed her tattoo to her friend. "Holy crap," Mary Margaret commented when she saw it. "You really did know Dumbledore was going to die the whole time."

"Every time I read a book, I was certain that was going to be the one where he died. This is actually such a huge relief for me. I always had to put make-up on it before going out, otherwise I was asked like a hundred questions."

Mary Margaret smiled. "You have a soulmark, Emma. Though, granted, I have never seen one that gives out such a major spoiler."

It was years later, after Mary Margaret and David were dating, then engaged, then happily married, that the three of them got there Harry Potter costumes on once more for the movie premiere of _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_.

Mary Margaret was certain that this was going to be the night that Emma met her soulmate, but the woman herself was less certain. Mostly because she didn't care if she met him (or her) tonight. If it wasn't for Mary Margaret and David, she probably wouldn't even believe in it in the first place.

After the movie was over, and everyone just sat in their seats in pure silence did David say, "You know, reading that was difficult, but seeing it on the screen. That was just unbelievable."

Mary Margaret started to agree as people started getting up and walking towards the exit. The three of them stayed put for a moment; the line was barely moving, so it wasn't like they were going anywhere.

Emma was about to comment on the rest of the movie when she heard it. A British accent not two feet away from her said, "Man, I can't believe Dumbledore died."

Emma jumped to her feet, pointed to him and yelled, "You! You're the one!"

The man looked over at Emma before looking down at his arm. Shaking his head, he looked back up and commented, "I did _not_ think you were going to say it like that."

Emma almost climbed over the seats trying to get to him. "You! I knew what was going to happen years before I even heard of Harry Potter and it's all because of you!"

"Love, I'm sorry," the man said putting out two hands, as though telling her to calm down. "It's not like I planned that."

"Thanks to you, I had major spoilers to the franchise! I probably knew about Dumbledore's death before J.K. Rowling!"

The man had the gall to laugh. "I'm sorry, love, I really am. But like I said, I didn't plan it. I don't make the rules. I'm sorry if that's the first thing you heard me say." 

"Excuse me, but you're blocking the aisle," commented an older woman dressed up like Professor McGonagall. 

"Apologizes," the man said as Emma muttered, "Sorry."

They moved along with the rest of the crowd, Emma's arms crossed tightly across her chest as the man tried really hard not to laugh at the circumstances he currently found himself in.

When they were outside, Emma turned towards the man once more. Even in the crappy lighting, she could tell he was a good looking guy. He had dark hair and light eyes, with a handsome face and just the right amount of scruff on his cheeks and chin. He was also dressed up in a Ravenclaw scarf and robe, and Emma was pretty sure she saw a wand sitting out of his pants pocket.

"Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Killian Jones," he said, sticking out his hand.

She placed her hand in his and gently shook it before letting go. "Emma Swan."

"Well, Emma Swan, it is lovely to meet you. Sorry about the spoiler, but like I said before, couldn't really help it."

"I know," she admitted in defeat. "It just sucked knowing that major piece of information. Totally ruined a part of the series for me."

"I can just imagine. Perhaps I can make it up to you."

"How?"

He scratched his chin. "I was thinking dinner, but I'll take anything really."

She cocked her head to the side. "Are you always that easy?"

He grinned and she almost had to hold onto the wall, because oh holy hell. "You don't know the half of it." Giving a small cough, he said with a gently smile, "I do need your phone number. So that I can contact you and make it up to you."

Emma handed him her phone where he put in his number. When he handed it back, she sent him a text so now he had her number.   

As she put her phone away, she said, "Dinner is a start."

"I'll make it up to you, I swear," he said turning to walk away.

"How?" she yelled when he got some distance between them.

He yelled back, "No spoilers."


End file.
